


Light and Dark makes Gray

by Skullbones



Category: Fran Bow (Video Game)
Genre: And It Gets Gross, Gore, Magic, No OCs, Seriously It's Violent, Torture, Trying To Stay Faithful To The Game, no ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2020-02-26 10:21:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18715081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skullbones/pseuds/Skullbones
Summary: Darkness is not evil, Light is not good, and morality is made up.Itward knows his time grows near and there is nothing he can do about it, but maybe Fran Bow can.





	1. Surprise!

A loud bang woke Fran Bow out of a dead sleep and she jumped up with a start. Itward had perched like a bird on her headboard with a spent popper as confetti rained on her.  
"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Fran! I hope I did not frighten you too badly!" he said extending his leg to step off of Fran's bed.  
"Itward! You! You mean thing! I will get you back!" Fran whined as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Her pet cat, Mr. Midnight was more frightened than she was; his little claws had dug into the blankets at the foot of the bed and he had puffed up his jet black fur. His already large eyes appeared even larger. 

"Well, consider this as revenge for the last time you had given me a fright! Jumping out from behind doors quite a rude thing to do." Itward laughed as Fran playfully began to punch his bony shins. She stopped her vicious assault when Itward knelt down to nearly eye level with her. Even while down on his knee he still towered over her. Fran thought he looked funny because he was so lanky.  
"Quite hard to believe it has been a year now, hasn't it? That was quite a big journey for such a little lady." Itward 's large hand patted Fran's head affectionately.  
"Excuse you, Itward! I am now twelve so I am a big lady!" Fran protested sticking her tongue out.  
"Hmm, yes. Do forgive me, Big Lady Fran!" Itward laughed and stuck out his gray tongue right back at her.  
"Well, anyway! I have brought your gift. Palontras should have your cake ready, if he can figure out how to make it. I may have to help him. Here you are!" he thrust a small present wrapped in bright yellow paper into Fran's waiting hands.

"What are you waiting for, Fran? Open it!" Mr. Midnight said jumping down from the bed after licking his fur back in order.  
Fran is urged on by a nod from Itward. She excitedly unwraps the gift while taking care to not tear the wrapping. Inside the paper was a pretty little hair bow. It looked like a little black kitten with big, shiny yellow eyes and two tiny paws came to rest beneath its head with a claw for each toe. It had a little pink nose and wore a large, Cheshire grin. To Fran, it looked like Mr. Midnight had a kitten that was half bow. It jingled faintly when she shook it.

Fran's blue eyes shone with delight and she hugged Itward tightly, jumping into his arms. "Oh, thank you! It's so pretty! I love it! I will put it on right away! I had a basket full of pretty bows in my closet back home."  
"Maybe we could rebuild that collection, then. You are very good at collecting things, my friend! I made that bow special just for you. Just like you, it is full of surprises!" he said getting to his feet. Itward had to hunch over to keep from knocking his skull against the ceiling of Fran's root home.  
The Great Wizard helped her cultivate it from a leftover sprig from her old tree shell. Growing, intertwining, and sculpting the massive roots was rather a simple task for the old wizard...as soon as he remembered how to do it, of course.

"I should check on Palontras. He really is awful at baking, but he wanted to do it. I will return with him shortly, hopefully he didn't catch his frills on fire this time. Remember that?" Itward said contorting down to comically shuffle through the doorway outside. Fran's laughing at both him and remembering the image of Palontras frantically flying in circles as smoke trailed behind him.  
Itward leaped in the air and held his top hat as he disappeared into a portal that opened at his feet. Fran knew Itward couldn't see her anymore but she waved him goodbye anyway.

"Itward really is a dear friend of ours, Fran, but this 'prank war' between you two is driving me absolutely mental!" Mr. Midnight yowled while he stretched.  
"It is so fun, though! He's just playing, besides! He might make it up to you again with another tasty fish!" Fran said affixing her new bow to her hair. After smiling at her reflection in her amber mirror, she nodded and giggled at the jingling that came from it. She skipped to her closet and searched for her special party dress. After moving to Ithersta, she relied on Itward to get her clothes and other essentials as most of the things she needed was not available in this world. He'd managed to bring all her old luggage, as well as new ones, from her Aunt Grace's house. He even brought Mr. Midnight's bed and his old toys too. 

 

As Fran got ready for her birthday Itward came out through the other end of his portal at Palontras' home. He sighed when he saw smoke rising from Palontras' clay oven. The giant axolotl worriedly chewed his fingers and tried to blow on his abused oven.  
"Are you sure you don't want any help, my friend?" Itward asked raising an eyeridge. Palontras slowly turned to face him, eyes watering and frowning as sadly as he could. Itward opens the oven and has to recoil to protect his big cat-like eyes from the stinging smoke from the burning batter. It almost looked like a cake this time, but was inedible to humans, sadly.  
"Oh, Palontras...you had it too hot again. It looks better than last time, though! I do see improvement, so I'll give this a...C." Itward unceremoniously dumped the cake slop over the side of the floating island.

"I was busy this morning, so I thought if I baked it at a higher temperature, it would finish faster." Palontras said waving the smoke away.  
"That might work in another reality, but making human food has to follow human rules. It takes time. Not time as we perceive it in this reality, but it does require patience." Itward said as he began to start the whole cake making ritual over again. Palontras watched from over his shoulder and tried to learn the strange human craft. Cooking and food preparation in general was almost completely foreign to Ithersta. Palontras, himself, swallowed his food raw and whole.

Itward popped the batter in the oven at the optimal temperature and sat back to wait. He dangled his spindly legs over the side of the floating island and watched the spinning paper swirls below.  
"Palontras. I need to tell you something of great importance." Itward finally said after some silence. Palontras, taken aback by Itward's tone, plopped down beside him.  
"Yes, old friend? You sound troubled...are you alright?" Palontras asked, concerned.  
"I'm not sure if my answer to that would be truthful. I'm fine right now...but...but I will die soon." Itward said bluntly in an uncharacteristically low, serious voice. Palontras spat in surprise.  
"Die?! But Itward! You're immortal! You can't just die-" Palontras began but was cut off.  
"It is unavoidable, I'm afraid."  
"Itward...if you need to stay here, you know you are more than welcome! You'll be safe here. We can protect you-"  
"Palontras. I am comforted by your words, but there is nothing anybody can do about my situation. It is simply a thing that will happen in the near future and I cannot avoid it. Those girls' spirits never truly moved on. Their hatred and malice towards me kept them anchored to the third reality. They will summon me and once they have me, my fate is sealed. I do not know when this will happen. Maybe tomorrow. I don't know. Neither of us can stop them and I cannot be protected from them." Itward spoke calmly as if he were having a casual conversation with his worried friend.  
"You mean the twin Buhalmet sisters, yes? You have done nothing but help those girls! You were the only person who ever showed them any mercy and you were unjustly blamed for their misfortune! This is not right...there must be something I can do for you." Palontras flew into the air and levitated in front of Itward to stare at him head on.

"Palontras. You truly are kind. Really you are. There is nothing you can do for me. All I ask is that you keep Fran safe. And learn how to bake while you're at it." Itward forced a smile, but he couldn't hold it.  
"I will do all I can for her, but what about you? What shall I tell her?"  
"You don't need me to tell you that. You already know. Do not mistake this as me being stubborn. I have no desire to die. I do enjoy life very much and I enjoy what I do. Visiting the children whom the world has turned its back on and being their friend brings me joy. For many, I am all they have. When society looks upon them, all they see are the feeble-minded, sick, and insane undesirables...cast into asylums or the streets to be forgotten. To fall through the cracks. To me, I see someone who only wants to be treated as a person and I grant them that by being their friend. When I'm gone, there will be nobody to help them. It is a selfish thing those girls will commit, but they always have been that way." 

Palontras listened quietly. The thought of losing Itward alone weighed heavily enough. Thinking about everyone that relied on him and how they will be left alone made that weight unbearable. He flinched when Itward offered a handkerchief to him to dry his tears.  
"Now, now. That is no way to act. This is hard, but there is nothing we can do to stop this and crying only wastes energy." Itward pats Palontras' nose. "Everything will be alright, my friend. As long as you keep Fran safe, that will be all that matters in the end. Can you promise me this?"  
Palontras nods and hands the silken cloth back to Itward. He watches as Itward gets to his feet and brushes the dirt from his clothes.

"That cake should be done soon. I shall help you decorate it. I do not wish to dwell on this subject any further, I hope you understand."


	2. Nightmares for All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The clock starts ticking.

Itward flew his flying machine listlessly without a real destination in mind. He had just left the orphanage where one of his friends was made to stay. The child's parents were alive and well, but they just did not want them anymore. Itward came to them when they began to harm themselves. Itward couldn't understand how people cold be so cruel, especially to someone who was brought into the world without being asked first. None of the other children at the orphanage could see him and the one that could had some trouble seeing him as part of their world. 

Itward sighs. The thought of his own death plagued his mind as he drove his ship. He hadn't had to think about the subject since he could live forever until someone else stepped in and killed him. He'd tried to eliminate that threat years ago, but the twins' deaths did not stop them after all. He hoped they would abandon their crusade against him and finally move on. They would have lived miserable lives anyway; even if they had succeeded the first time and they had been separated. They would be angry with themselves and hate the world they had been born into. He'd first visited them to ease their pain, but when he showed up at the spiraling downturn of their lives they blamed him for it. The doctors cut them into pieces to eat their brains and sew them back together just to say it could be done. They believed he was the cause of their misery and had to be punished. Itward remembered their first attempt on his life and a shiver ran up his spine.

 

"This is all your fault, Itward! You cursed us! You are an evil, evil man!" Mia shouted at him. "You hate us just as mother did and you're why Clara and I are so miserable!"  
"Come now, Mia. You know that is not true at all. I've only tried to help you girls come to terms with the circumstances you've been dealt. I pity your situation, but the truth is that you two have made your lot worse with the way you think and behave! Your spitefulness towards one another and the world has turned you as cold and hard as stones. I want to see you two blossom into better people despite such a rough start. Now please, stop this and let us be friends!" Itward extends his hand out to Mia and frowns when she flinches away from him and holds her hands away in disgust.  
"Don't you dare touch me, monster! We want you dead! Dead! That is something my sister and I can agree on." Mia stepped forward threateningly. Itward held firm as he tried to reason with Mia. He was not afraid of her, but he knew she and her sister were far from harmless.  
Speaking of Clara...where was she..?  
"Die creature of the night! Die!" screamed Clara from behind. Itward whirled around to see Clara bounding toward him with a kitchen knife in hand. He barely had enough time to open a portal beneath his feet to safety when she swiped at him. From his pocket dimension he heard a bloodcurdling shriek. He jumped back up through the same portal and saw Mia sitting on the tile floor of the Asylum basement, her hands trying to stop the blood from pouring out of her abdomen. The bloody knife lay between the sisters with Clara frozen in shock. She turned around to stare at Itward. Rage slowly twisted her face; not for her sister, but for him. She was so close!  
Clara bent over to pick the knife up again to finish the job, but as she lowered herself, Mia swiped the knife and drove it into Clara's stomach as well.  
"This is...all your fault Clara!" Mia spat as blood filled her lungs. "You...had one job...If I die, I'm taking you with me!"  
"M-My fault?! You were supposed to...distract him! This is all your fault, Clara!" Mia gasped through tears.  
As the twins lay dying, Itward could do nothing but shake his head. Even as their bickering grew quieter until it faded completely, they fought and blamed and even made attempts to pick the discarded weapon again. It was unsurprising that the last words to leave their lips were filled with malice and death towards one another.

 

Itward felt no guilt about what happened. He had nothing to do with it. They tried to kill him for helping them and dodging Clara resulted in the twins taking each other's lives. It was all a misunderstanding that ended in an accident and a tragedy. He'd done all he could for the girls but they did not want to be helped. He didn't want to get hung up on it, but he had hoped they found peace wherever their souls ended up. That, however, was asking too much of the girls. They did not move on. Itward would catch glimpses of the girls creeping around his flying machine with their dead eyes glued to him. Their spirits could not harm him or his delicate machinery in this dimension and he knew that, but the hatred that burned from their eyes clawed up his back and tightened around his neck. Discovering their plans to kill him did not surprise him in the least.

Itward felt a chill on his bones and the stench of rotting death filled his nostrils. He put that memory away and breathed a shallow sigh as he turned slightly to eye the portal that had opened behind him. Long twisted arms with gnarled, bony fingers extended from the wound between realities to open the portal wider. A bloody skull emerged and stared back at Itward. Black, oily saliva dribbled from the mandibles of the beast as the rest of his tattered body of darkness slithered into the ship.

Itward calmly enabled the automatic drivers while Remor breathed hot air down his neck.  
"Well it's about time you showed up. You've kept me waiting, your Highness..." Itward said plainly.   
Remor's clawed hand grabbed Itward's shoulder and whirled him around to face him. "You know why I am here. You have known for a while, haven't you?" Remor's dead skull would smirk if it could. "I wouldn't expect any less of you, old friend. You are always hiding in the shadows, silently observing."  
Itward wanted to lean away from the stench that emanated from Remor's putrid breath but opted to lean forward mockingly instead. "Well...you do know me, Prince. We share much in common. I also see you slinking about in the shadows...watching silently..." Itward chuckled "...But...with all that watching you do I'm certain that you do not see everything with how often I outwit you. I will bet you've never even seen this coming!"

Before Remor could react, a black clockwork cat on a unicycle began to pedal out from behind the Kamala and sprayed him with water from its mewing mouth. Remor's wail shook the flying machine and allowed Itward time to escape. He ran into the garden room and jumped up through the trapdoor to the roof with Remor clawing after him. Once Remor's skull appeared in the trapdor it was met with a powerful kick, sending him tumbling back into the garden. Itward turned the valve for the teapot fountain to release the water into the hole. Remor's scream told him that he'd hit his mark.   
"Itward! You are weak! You hide behind tricks because you cannot stand to face me directly!" Remor's voice boomed from the lower level of the airship. Itward turned his gaze to the forming cumulonimbus that lay in the path of the airship. Once he was in the storm Remor should flee and Itward would live to see another sunrise.   
A sudden heave from the flying machine had nearly shaken Itward off of the roof. The teapot's water pressure sputtered to a trickle. It gurgled miserably as Remore tore at its exposed guts. Another violent shudder made Itward brace himself against the dying fountain.  
His heart sank when he heard the propellers wind down and the engine whine.  
The airship was losing altitude. The bird whistle wailed in alarm as vital systems failed. Itward reached for the trapdoor but was met with an angry haymaker from below. The blow connected with his brow and he lost his footing. He slid down the side and caught himself on the railing. Remor emerged from the depths of the machine with pieces of the airship's innards clenched between his jaws and in his bony claws. He cackled and tossed them over Itward's head, making his foe watch as they were swallowed by the dark trees.  
When Itward turned back to Remor he was caught in the gaze of an angry, fiery portal. Raw bloody hands slithered out from the maw and grabbed at him. Itward closed his eyes and tried to fade into another reality for safety, but was pulled back by a hand on his leg. Another grabbed him, then another and another. Their hands crawled up his body grabbing onto whatever they could. Their otherworldly grip threatened to splinter his bones while they tried to wrench him from the railing.

Remor watched in amusement. Immortal Itward fighting for his life in a futile battle to avoid being swallowed alive. He crept closer and placed his hand on Itward's.  
"I believe you have an appointment, Itward. I wouldn't want you to be late..." Remor's voice rumbled.  
"Remor! Unhand me!" Itward yelled as Remore began to push Itward's hand off of his anchor.  
"With pleasure, my friend. Water and your tricks can't save you now. Goodbye." Remor purred. He grabbed Itward's hand and wrenched it off of the railing. He coldly releases Itward's hand and watches as he was banished into the portal. Remor abandoned the ship and watched gleefully as it fell towards the forest below before retreating into a portal of his own before the rain began to fall. 

Fran woke in a cold sweat. She hadn't had a restful night of sleep ever since her birthday only days before. She couldn't understand it. She had so much fun in her special party dress with all of her friends! She ate cake, played games, and danced in the sun all day...so why did she have such terrible nightmares? Fran watched in slight jealousy as her cat, Mr. Midnight, slept peacefully in his own little bed. 

Fran looked down at her hands. No blood. She placed her clean hands to her temples and tried to soothe her racing breath.  
It was the same nightmare. She had trouble seeing, but Fran did see a shining knife plunging into a bloody corpse that had been stripped of its flesh. Whomever wielded the knife had the strength to break through the corpse's rib cage and threw splintered bone with every deadly stab. Every thrust sent a fountain of blood gushing outwards to coat everything nearby and flood the room. The victim screamed like an animal, but Fran could not tell if the corpse belonged to a human or an animal. She did not really want to know, anyway. She had seen enough violence, death, and gore in her short life. 

Fran wonders if she is tormented with these visions due to the Duotine she used to take. She took her last pill over a year ago and never experienced any side effects until now. 'Maybe Palontras could help' she thought. 'He is a doctor after all. Maybe he could fix my head and stop the nightmares. Palontras is a good doctor that does not eat children's brains like mean old Oswald!' she skipped to her window...but dashed the thought when she thought about Palontras also trying to get some sleep. It wouldn't be fair to wake him up at this hour. Maybe later. 

Fran did not want to go to sleep again as that would mean another nightmare of the same nasty thing. She wonders if Palontras has nightmares. Does he even dream of things like she can? Perhaps he dreams of Palontras things rather than Fran things.  
Fran's eye catches her new hair bow sitting on her nightstand with her other small trinkets. She wonders if Itward can sleep too. She's never seen him even take a nap, so maybe he doesn't. Since Fran doesn't plan on going back to sleep, she puts her bow back in. She shakes her head to listen to the little jingling from inside the little cat head.

Far up in the skies of Ithersta, Palontras sleeps curled and snoring under the water of his home. He was in too deep of a sleep to dream. Ever since Itward broke the news of his eventual demise it was hard for Palontras to fall asleep. Palontras had to sleep, if he were too tired he would fall asleep while flying and has crashed before. It was unpleasant. He'd caused an awful panic that day and it was all just a mess, not to mention it was all very embarrassing for Palontras. 

Palontras' dreamless sleep ended when a shockwave rippled out from his core to the tips of his hairs. His eyes opened and he let out a roar that even found its way out from under the water of his pool. He propelled himself out of the water and into the sky, biting at nothing and snarling. Palontras saw red as he knew just what this shockwave meant: Itward's link to him had been severed. 

Fran heard Palontras' roar from her window and when she looked outside, she saw him zipping through the sky. He looked like he was frolicking through the stars. It looked quite fun!  
Fran looked back at her kitty and decided to not disturb him. She would come right back, anyway.  
Fran threw on her coat followed the trail to Palontras' Landing. There, he would see her and they could talk.


	3. Chapter 3

Itward's eyes snapped open as he jolted back into consciousness. He had only blacked out for mere minutes, yet that was more than enough time for his captors to make off with his hat and tailcoat and tie him down with his arms and legs outstretched on an ashy pentagram. Though he could not see his captors, he knew they were here. In his mind's eye he could see what million scenarios they had planned for him and all of them ended in his foreseen death.   
Itward did not struggle against the magical forces that held him down for he knew escape was impossible. There was no use in tiring himself out for no reason and struggling would only delight his tormentors. The stench of the other ritual items surrounding him alerted him to their presence. Itward's cat-like eyes allowed him to see into the darkness, but he did not want to look at the cursed and ill-gotten reagents used to summon and bind him. He closes his eyes as he fights to steady his anxious heart.   
Itward lightly tugged at his restraints to gauge their strength. Perhaps they were watching him, waiting for him to thrash about in a panic and attempt to call for help just so they could laugh at him. Their attention may have been elsewhere entirely while Itward lied helpless and neutralized. They had him right where they wanted him, so why didn't they descend upon him like starving vultures at the first opportunity? The anticipation was killing Itward, but the twins were not.

And that concerned him.

 

Fran Bow happily makes her way towards Palontras' station with her new bow jingling with every step. Maybe he would let her climb onto his back and they could go for a short ride together. Fran had to go back to bed some time tonight, so she knew she couldn't stay out for too long. Itward gets upset with her for staying up too late, among other things. Fran acknowledges that he's only trying to help her in her parent's absence by teaching her responsibility, but he can be a real bother sometimes. It almost feels as if he really is her parent when he has to put his foot down.

Fran shakes away the unwanted image of Itward wearing her dad's clothes and spits her tongue out when she reaches Palontras' platform. Her goal was to forget her nightmares not make any new ones! Palontras should see her any minute and and soon they will be flipping through the clouds and stars. 

Fran toes one of the rings in the tree's platform. Grooves left by Palontras' claws crisscrossed the tree rings and reminded her of Mr. Midnight scratching hings to keep his claws sharp.   
Fran was pulled out of her thoughts when a cold chill wrapped its icy fingers around her neck and chilled her bones. She turned quickly to face the unwanted presence and came face to shadow with the trembling form of a kamala. Only when she saw it did Fran begin to smell it. She could practically taste the decaying meat that seemed to be boiling under what substituted for flesh on the apparition. 

"I'm not afraid of you! Go away! You can't be here!" Fran shouted and waved the monster off but it only stared at her with dead, glazed eyes. It stood tall with a slight slump and looked like it had a wild rat's nest for its hair. It had a very large mouth that took up the whole front of the beast with snaggleteeth jutting out at many angles along the perpetual frown. Every exhale from the disgusting maw blew the foul stench at Fran.   
Thick, black saliva dribbled out from the corners of the kamala's jaws and pooled around the beast. It didn't have any visible feet and appeared to grow out of the ground like the very tree they stood on. The kamala opened its mouth and the sludge that spilled from the depths of the creature nearly made Fran faint on the spot. The kamala already smelled like a carcass, but the added scents of fetid blood, rotting bile, and decomposing remnants of intestines and their contents only added to putrefy the air around her. 

"I said go away! You are terrible and I don't want to be around you!" Fran stomped her foot at the creature while taking care to avoid the fluid pooling around it. 

The kamala only gurgled in response, ignoring Fran's demand. Suddenly, it barfed up an object, to Fran turned her head away in disgust. Fran glances longingly at one of the floating islands that dotted Ithersta's sky. In only she could reach one of them, she could splash water from one of the springs and drive away the kamala and wash away the vomit that assaulted her eyes and nose. 

"Fran Bow..." the kamala whispered. It spoke with a dry hoarseness peppered with small burps. "Look at what I've brought to you, Fran Bow. Tell us if you recognize this item, Fran..."   
"Ugh! No! I don't want it! I don't care what it is! Clean up your mess and get out of here!" Fran wails and covers her nose. She fought to settle her stomach through this assault on her senses while the kamala continued its attempt to speak.  
"Fran Bow...we bring to you a message of great importance. This message lies in this article Fran Bow. Look at it Fran Bow...tell us if this article elicits something within you..." the kamala growls.

Fran throws her head back and groans. If sifting through tar-like vomit will make this beast leave her alone, then she will do it. She carefully tiptoes through the seeping bile and toes the mass with the tip of her shoe. It appears to be made of a velvety fabric. A shy glint of brass reflects the light of one of Ithersta's moons from within the sludge.   
This piques the girl's curiosity.

Not wanting to touch the substance coating the object, Fran opts to continue using her shoe to wipe away the gunk until at last a dreadfully familiar shape is revealed.

"Itward's hat! How did you get this?!" Fran shrieks and pulls the globby hat out of the ooze to desperately wipe it off. More and more features of Itward's hat revealed themselves to Fran as she cleaned them off as best she could, ignoring the mild burning the sludge inflicted on her hands.  
"What did you do to him?" she demands pointing accusingly at the kamala.

"You have his blood on your hands Fran Bow."

"That does not answer my question! What happened to him? Tell me!"

"He dies in the Fifth Reality. In the house of dolls and discarded bones. You will find your Itward there and he will die, Fran Bow."

"Please. what does that mean? I don't understand any of that!"

The kamala sits in silence, its dead eyes unfocused yet glowing. Fran tensed as worry, anger, and fear welled inside of her. She hoped it was wrong. She hoped the kamala merely stole Itward's hat off his head and Itward would show up safe and unharmed the next day asking for it back. 

Suddenly, the kamala's tongue shot out like a frog's and pulled the hat out of Fran's hands to swallow it whole once again.

"Wh-Hey! Give that back! Open your mouth!" Fran demanded and stepped forward to claw at the kamala's toothy mouth. She drew her hands back to her chest when the kamala opened its mouth as she demanded. With its mouth opened completely, the kamala could easily swallow her up like it had with Itward's hat. Fran hid her nose in her elbow to shield herself from the stench wafting out from the bottomless gullet glaring back at her.

"We can take you to your Itward right now if you wish. Climb inside our mouth and let us carry you, Fran Bow..." the kamala spoke without moving it's mouth. 

Fran shakes her head and takes a careful step away from the kamala who made no attempt to follow her. It had no arms to grab her with, but that tongue could suffice just as well. If Itward really was in trouble and she were eaten by a kamala, then she couldn't help save him. 

 

"Fran Bow?! What are you doing out here so late?" came a soft, familiar voice from behind her. Fran turned around to face Palontras, who had landed a few feet behind her. She turned back to where the kamala stood, but saw the space empty with all of the vomit gone. Fran turned back to Palontras who cocked his head expectantly.

"There was a...it was right there...It..." Fran began, but so many questions buzzed around in her skull she couldn't focus on which one to ask first.

"There is nothing there, my friend. You are tired, go back to bed." Palontras grumbled. He was tense. He pawed at the wooden platform anxiously and his fur was puffed out. 

"Is Itward okay?" Fran finally blurted. Palontras nearly choked on air and shifts his gaze to the horizon.

"O-Oh, I'm sure he's fine! Just...fine...do not worry for him, dear. Just go back to bed." Palontras lied through his teeth and Fran noticed.

"Prove it! Tell him to come here! I saw...something...he's not okay, isn't he? He's going to die! We have to help him!" Fran stomps at Palontras, who shrunk away while refusing to look at her.

"Fran. Go back to bed. I will not ask you again. Listen and be good, please. Do not worry about Itward." Palontras's voice dropped to a firm demand. 

"I knew it! Something did happen to him and you're not telling me! I want to help! He's my friend too! Who do you think has him? Is it Oswald? Remor?"

"That's enough Fran Bow Dagenhart! Go home, go to sleep, and do not ask about this anymore! He doesn't want you involved with this, so leave it! I will take care of it!" Palontras snaps to stare down Fran, his frills unfurled threateningly. When he saw the sudden fear in her eyes, however, he took a deep breath and relaxed his display.  
"I'm sorry Fran Bow. I did not mean to raise my voice at you, but please...just go home. This is hard enough on the both of us as it is. I'm afraid there is nothing you can do." Palontras gave a mournful smile and pats Fran's shoulder. This did nothing to ease the pain welling in Fran's eyes as she smacks the paw away to turn and run home.  
Palontras watches her flee and turns to face one of Ithersta's moons. 

The darkness of night began to give way to the light of the morning as the sun rose. Palontras tries to shake off the impending dread worming its way into his brain, but could not shake off the feeling. 

"Itward? Oh, what have we gotten ourselves into? Wherever you are, I implore you to hold on. I refuse to believe that your end is as fated as you made it seem. I won't give you up without a fight...and I'm afraid she won't either. I hope I'm doing the right thing..." Palontras sighs and sniffs the air before making way to his pools. He dips his face into the water and begins to fill his stomach with the fluid. Palontras caught the smell of death nearby and knows just how to clean the dirt. 

He would worry about Fran Bow later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy! A chapter! Life's been busy and uninspiring. Little Misfortune is out and whispers of a Fran Bow sequel are out there! Here's hoping we see it!

**Author's Note:**

> Hearing rumors of a Fran Bow sequel had me revisit this little fandom. Thought the story up as I meandered my way through the puzzles.  
> Maybe writing this will help me get my motivation back to finish my other fics ;)  
> (I hope. Please. I want to finish them!)


End file.
